Passover Shipment to Nepal Saves Seder

A large shipment of Passover supplies arrived in Kathmandu just in time for seder.

The container arrived after being released from an Indian port on Monday, hours before the seder scheduled for up to 1,500 Jewish travelers was set to take place. The shipment included 1 ton of matzah, 2,000 bottles of wine, 3,000 pieces of gefilte fish and other traditional Jewish foods as well as hagaddahs, according to Chabad.org. Volunteers from all over the world helped unload the container and bring the kosher-for-Passover items to the Chabad House.

The seder reportedly had been in jeopardy due to a strike by workers of Israel’s Foreign Ministry, since the ministry handles the receiving and delivering of the containers. The strike ended on April 3, but it was not clear whether the container would make it to Kathmandu on time.

Travelers to Nepal already had begun bringing Passover supplies in their backpacks in case the shipment did not get there in time, and Rabbi Chezky Lifshitz, co-director of the Chabad House of Kathmandu and the Chabad House of Pokhara with his wife, Chani, already were working on plans to make their own grape juice, according to Chabad.org.

In addition to the main large seder in Kathmandu, there is another English-language seder, as well as two large ones in the cities of Pokhara and Manang.